Successfully fought back against a 7% cut to brain injury services funding

Advocated for and achieved legislative support for the development of a state agency and community stakeholder work team to improve brain injury data analysis and support the operation of a publicly funded, in-state neurobehavioral rehabilitation program

FY18 Goals:

• Improve care and support for individuals with brain injury and their families

Founded in 1982 by families and concerned professionals, the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) is the only statewide non-profit organization in Virginia exclusively dedicated to serving individuals with brain injury, their families and those that care for and about them. Since opening our doors, we have served more than 300,000 people through our outreach, information and referral, support groups and Camp Bruce McCoy programs.

Today, BIAV's mission is to advance awareness, research, treatment and education to improve the quality of life for all people affected by brain injury; we are the primary source of information and personal support for thousands of individuals, families and professionals living in Virginia whose lives have been touched by a life-altering, often devastating injury.

Our over-arching, mission driven goals are to improve outcomes for persons with brain injury and their families, and to expand public understanding of brain injury. Our education, outreach, support, awareness and advocacy objectives include the operation of a statewide toll-free helpline; care navigation consultations; educational events; outreach to newly injured Virginians; public awareness campaigns; public policy work; support groups; and Camp Bruce McCoy.

CEO Statement

October 13, 2017

Dear BIAV Friends & Supporters,

As you read this profile, I hope you truly understand how much your support has enabled BIAV to provide help, hope and healing to people impacted by brain injury.

It created help, through specialized brain injury education to more than 1,000 people. It created hope, through resources coordination services and more than 600 people the tools to stay strong. It created healing, through program scholarships and support groups.

We appreciate your support of the work we do. We are honored to be the stewards of your support, and will continue to work diligently to ensure that persons with brain injury will benefit from it.

Thank you for all you do.

Anne H. McDonnell, MPA, OTR/L

Executive Director

Brain Injury Association of Virginia

Board Chair Statement

October 13, 2017

On behalf of our Board
and staff, thank you for your interest in the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. This is my first
letter to our stakeholders as President of the Board of Directors, and I and
the other members of the Board are grateful for your support.

In the upcoming year, the BIAV hopes to accomplish several ambitious goals; they include the 6th Annual Caregiver Forum, the 17th Annual Conference in March, the 35th Annual Camp Bruce McCoy in May, and Resource Coordination program expansion and accreditation. We are working in and through our Strategic Plan, reaming focused on our mission to advance education, awareness, support, research and treatment to improve the quality of life for all people affected by brain injury.

With new leaders and volunteers to help us achieve our mission, we are excited about the future. There is much work to do to create a better world for those we serve, and we need every voice in our education, outreach, support, public awareness, and advocacy efforts. Please consider joining our activities by liking us on Facebook, becoming a member, and attending or supporting one of our events; you can become an ambassador for BIAV by asking someone else to do those same three things.

Thank you for all you do to bring about help, hope and healing, and for your support of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia.

The tables below contain information about other groups that advise this nonprofit on operations and projects.

Executive Director

Executive Director Anne H McDonnell MPA, OTR/L, CBIST

Experience

Ms. McDonnell is the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. She has a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the Medical College of Virginia, a post-graduate Certificate in Health Care Management and Administration from Old Dominion University, and a Masters of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Anne has over 30 years of experience in brain injury rehabilitation and advocacy across a continuum of hospital and community based settings, and has worked as a consultant for state agencies and private service providers. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer.

She holds a clinical faculty position in the School of Occupational Therapy at VCU, serves on the Virginia Brain Injury Council and is Chair of the VCU Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Grant Advisory Board. She has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of America.

In 2011, she was named by Virginia Lawyers Media’s as one of the “Influential Women of Virginia”, and was honored with the State Association Leadership Award by the Brain Injury Association of America. In 2014, she was chosen to serve with 50 of the nation’s top brain injury researchers and clinicians on the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s project to develop Guidelines for the Rehabilitation and Disease Management of Adults with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Former CEOs

Name

Term

Mr. Harry Weinstock

Jan 1991 - Dec 2005

Senior Staff

Name

Title

Sheela Nimishakavi

Director of Operations

Staff

Full Time Staff6

Part Time Staff2

Volunteers35

Contractors0

Retention Rate85

Plans

Organization has a Fundraising Plan?Yes

Organization has a Strategic Plan?Yes

Years Strategic Plan Considers3

Date Strategic Plan AdoptedAug 2017

Management Succession Plan?Yes

Organization Policy and ProceduresYes

Nondiscrimination PolicyYes

Whistleblower PolicyYes

Document Destruction PolicyYes

Directors and Officers Insurance PolicyYes

Collaborations

Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists

Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center

Virginia Commonwealth University Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems

Virginia Alliance of Brain Injury Service Providers

Virginia Brain Injury Council

Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, School of Occupational Therapy

Education:
Annual conference, Certified Brain Injury Specialist review and testing,
professional and community trainings and webinars.

Outreach and Family Support: Personalized Information & Referral and Resource Coordination assistance, outreach to newly injured individuals or their family caregivers, provision of local brain injury support groups, and technical assistance to 30 others brain injury support groups across the state.

Public Awareness: Brain Injury Month awareness campaign, Brain Injury Awareness Day at the Virginia General Assembly, community events, public service campaigns.

Advocacy: Development and provision of information, training, support and resources that create systems change through effective brain injury advocates, BI community representation at state and local agency meetings and on boards, committees, work teams and task forces, public policy and legislative leadership, and advocacy training.

Camp Bruce McCoy: 2 week recreation and respite program for adult survivors of brain injury and family caregivers.